THE TIMBERS OF COMMERCE 



Bark. " Persistent, wrinkled " (80). " Greyish-white, 

 smoothly wrinkled " (17). Fibrous, not corky, about J inch thick. 



Uses, etc. " Strong, durable, does not split in seasoning : 

 invaluable for engineering, cabinet-making, turnery and archi- 

 tectural work ; shafts, naves, felloes and various implements, 

 shipbuilding, and general purposes " (80). " The strongest and 

 toughest wood in Western Australia " (17). " Tough and rigid 

 difficult to cleave. Sound, with few or no defects, most 

 valuable in large scantlings where great strength is needed, 

 shrinks little in seasoning and does not split, not in the least 

 affected by weather, stands high temperatures (i.e., that of the 

 engine room) " (60). See Laslett for mechanical tests. Pares 

 easily with the knife, planes badly, saws with great ease. Not 

 ornamental. 



Authorities. F. v. Mueller (80), p. 9. Ednie-Brown (17), p. 15. 

 Laslett (60), p. 432. 



Easily confused with other Eucalypti of the same colour. 



Colour. " Yellowish-white " (17). Yellowish or straw- 

 colour ; light brown. Sap-wood sharply defined from the heart, 

 dull brown. 



Anatomical Characters. Similar to E. globulus, No. 106. 

 Transverse section : 



Pores. Readily visible from their lighter colour and masses, 

 size 2, considerable variation from one year to another, but not 

 of necessity increasing in size as the tree ages : usually joined to 

 others but frequent single, isolated pores : often subdivided : 

 few, 6-20 per sq. mm. :. sometimes as many as 15 in a string. 



Rays. Clearly visible with lens, always traceable : rarely 

 quite straight : very weak, thin, light-coloured threads : many 

 10-14 P er mm - 



Rings. Clear. The boundary varies : sometimes a zone 

 poor in pores or a fine white line about the width of a ray, both 

 accompanied by a change in the direction of the pore-strings. 



Soft-tissue. Readily visible, as rather wide borders encircling 

 the pores, and perhaps also the fine white boundary-like line. 



Pith. ? 



Radial Section. Pores readily visible but scarcely prominent, 

 usually reversed in adjoining belts, undulating : contain gummy- 

 looking drops. Rays very inconspicuous, colourless, visible in 

 certain lights only. Rings indicated by the reversed pores 

 and fibres. 



Tangential Section. As the Radial, but the rays only just 

 visible with the lens as white, coarse-celled lines about o'l mm. 

 high. 



Type specimen authenticated by the Forest Officer to the 

 Government of Western Australia. 



122 



